Kitty O'Neil
Encyclopedia
Kitty O'Neil is a former stuntwoman and racer noted for a handful of exceptional accomplishments, despite becoming deaf when she was four months old.
She became a stunt woman because she was married to a stunt man.
In 1977 in the Mojave Desert
, she piloted a hydrogen peroxide
powered rocket dragster built by Ky Michaelson to the quickest quarter mile elapsed time in auto history, with a timed run of 3.22 seconds at 396 mi/h with an average speed of 279.5 mi/h. During the same time, she also made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 mi/h. The NHRA contends that Top Fuel
dragsters hold the fastest quarter mile times in the 4.4x seconds and 330 mi/h range as of 2005. But NHRA rules state that any run that sets a record on a drag strip must be backed up within one percent during the same meet. FIA rules on land speed records require any run to set a record must be based on the average of two runs, each way, within one hour. Because the quarter mile elapsed time was not set in such conditions, it cannot be declared an absolute record.
In 1979 her experiences served as the base for a biographical movie: Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story.
In drag racing, hydrogen peroxide "rocket cars" were relegated to exhibition only, and have not been allowed in the United States since the 1980s, although they continue to be run in other parts of the world.
She became a stunt woman because she was married to a stunt man.
In 1977 in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, she piloted a hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
powered rocket dragster built by Ky Michaelson to the quickest quarter mile elapsed time in auto history, with a timed run of 3.22 seconds at 396 mi/h with an average speed of 279.5 mi/h. During the same time, she also made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 mi/h. The NHRA contends that Top Fuel
Top Fuel
Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing...
dragsters hold the fastest quarter mile times in the 4.4x seconds and 330 mi/h range as of 2005. But NHRA rules state that any run that sets a record on a drag strip must be backed up within one percent during the same meet. FIA rules on land speed records require any run to set a record must be based on the average of two runs, each way, within one hour. Because the quarter mile elapsed time was not set in such conditions, it cannot be declared an absolute record.
In 1979 her experiences served as the base for a biographical movie: Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story.
In drag racing, hydrogen peroxide "rocket cars" were relegated to exhibition only, and have not been allowed in the United States since the 1980s, although they continue to be run in other parts of the world.
External links
- The Drag Racing List: All-Time Quickest Rocket-Powered Dragsters (Alphabetical List by Driver and Year)
- Space Age Racing: Article mentioning Kitty's world record
- Ky Michaelson's first hand account of the record-setting attempts